Rockin’ the ice election night

Published On November 9, 2012 | By Alice Cook

Like many Americans, I spent the better part of seven hours watching election coverage on Tuesday night. I’m one of those people who likes to “flip” around to see which network is doing what, who calls it first, and who nailed the big interview.

On this night I settled in early with NBC. Not because of Brian Williams, David Gregory and Samantha Guthrie. Not because of Tom Brokaw or Chuck Todd.

It was the ice rink. I was hypnotized by that sheet of ice painted with the map of our country. An hour into the coverage I announced to my husband, “I really want to skate on that. How fun would that be?”

The remark was greeted by a blank stare at the crazy lady.

“You should be looking at the state of Florida, Alice, it’s important. So is Ohio,” I was told.

Of course I knew that. But that ice was great.

“Look at those guys spray painting the blue or the red for the winner.”

I thought of the bull gang at the Boston Garden. They could have rocked that.

Really, I thought. If a skater like Olympic champion Evan Lysacek took off for his triple lutz at North Carolina, he could land in Nevada…easily!

Like flights, skating jumps have a ‘take off’ and a ‘landing.’

I have skated at Rockefeller Center a number of times. It’s really small. It’s way too small to pull off throw double axels, that’s for sure. On Tuesday night it was huge.

Maybe it’s just that I needed to see an ice surface on television. Then I suddenly realized I had a bad case of hockey withdrawal.

If NBC was really on it, the network could have staged a hockey game instead of going back to “local coverage.” Give me a hip check, a kick save, and please give me a goal! I don’t care if it’s cheap or not. Just let me see a puck go into a net. “He shoots, he scores!”

The ice was being wasted. Nobody was skating on it.

I must say the reporter who stood on ice without skates was impressive. Imagine reporting on voting trends while using an iPad and not losing your balance once. She gets the gold medal.

A few hours into it, I realized the election coverage was being treated like a sporting event.

Would Obama run the 4-3 or the 3-4, I wondered. What kinds of schemes does he have up his sleeve? Then I remembered the President is a hoops guy. Is he thinking zone or man-to-man?

I heard references to the ground game, a Hail Mary and a slam dunk. If running for office ever becomes a contact sport, I will truly have the best of both worlds.

Obama traditionally has played of game of pickup as a way to prepare for the big night. I wish there were video clips. Imagine the President throwing an elbow or flopping.

In 2010, Barack Obama challenged the newly elected Republican senator from Massachusetts to a little two-on-two. There was no network coverage, but according to Scott Brown, he and his daughter Ayla, a Boston College standout, kicked some serious butt. I never doubted it for a second.

Something tells me the President and Elizabeth Warren won’t meet on a basketball court any time soon. No matter how we voted, the professor proved she does have some game, just not that kind of game.

It’s over now. The winners and losers are moving on, and NBC won the ratings.

About The Author

Alice Cookis a veteran television sports reporter and Olympian. Her experience includes 25 years of sports reporting for WBZ-TV, the CBS and former NBC affiliate in Boston. Cook has worked for ESPN, Turner Sports, and WTBS. Cook is a feature writer for She's Game Sports and Boston.com. She is also President and Founder of She's Game Sports LLC.

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